Leva Azadi describes the experience of taking her young sons on pilgrimage to the Holy Shrines of their Bahá’i faith.
Pilgrimage is a revered act that people of the Bahá’i Faith aim to undertake. While it is a deeply personal experience for each pilgrim, the primary purpose remains the same for all Bahá’is: to pray and meditate at the Holy Shrines of the Bahá’i Faith.
My husband Nick and I had planned to go on pilgrimage from Australia to Haifa, Israel a number of years ago. We put our names on the waiting list and looked forward to when our time would arrive. But each time we received a date to confirm our plans, we postponed. This is because we first had one son, then a second. The goal of a spiritual and meditative experience seemed at odds with travelling halfway across the world, turning day into night and night into day, with our two energetic youngsters.
Then our turn came up again. And we decided we had postponed too many times — it was time to go. By now, our boys were seven and four years old, and we hoped the pilgrimage would begin to strengthen their own spiritual connection to these Holy Sites.
The Holy Sites
Bahá’i pilgrimage spans nine days and consists of guided visits to Holy Shrines and other sites in Israel associated with, and significant to, the Bahá’i Faith and its history.
In addition to the guided visits, pilgrims can make additional visits to the shrines, other sites and many gardens. All Holy Sites visited on pilgrimage are located in the Haifa-Akka area of Israel.
Pilgrims are referred to and treated as guests of the supreme administrative body of the Bahá’i Faith, the Universal House of Justice. The pilgrimage is an especially curated experience, designed to provide pilgrims with every opportunity to maximise their opportunities to forge their connection to the spiritual and administrative centre of the Bahá’i Faith.
Preparing to Be Pilgrims
In the months leading up to our pilgrimage we spent time with our boys each night acquainting them with the places they would be visiting and the people they would be learning about.
Privately, I wondered how our boys would go with long days on buses and sessions listening to tour guides. And as I watched them doing somersaults and making faces at each other during our daily bedtime prayers, I wondered how on earth we would pray and meditate in silence, in the most sacred spot on earth for all Bahá’is! Was this a terrible idea?
But as we entered Haifa on the evening before the first day of pilgrimage and were greeted by the sight of magnificent Mount Carmel and the shrine upon it, we all felt ready and excited.
Managing the Family on Pilgrimage
We had spent a week in Europe overcoming our jet lag and there my husband and I had worked out a plan for managing our children during the pilgrimage. We decided we wouldn’t ask too much of them. We would keep family visits to Holy Shrines short and sharp. We would keep the boys separated — one per parent — during guided tours (to avoid the inevitable play-fighting and/or sibling bickering!), and my husband and I would visit the Holy Shrines one at a time so that each of us could have a longer, quiet prayer time.
Starting the Pilgrimage
Spending all this time thinking about the logistics of a family pilgrimage meant that although I felt ready, I had not undertaken my own spiritual preparation. I hadn't considered why I was personally there. I didn’t even remember to take my prayer book! (Luckily there were many on hand.)
So I was moved by the gentle reminder from our tour guide at our orientation session on the first day about the reason for our being there.This was not merely a sightseeing tour, but it was an opportunity to forge a profound connection with the spiritual centre of our faith. It was an important message for me to hear.
Entering into the Experience
Over the following days I felt profound warmth and joy. It is undeniable that we are made of more than our physical bodies, and as we engaged in this specifically spiritual undertaking, our spirits responded.
I will never forget the feeling of love that bowled me over on the first day as we entered the pilgrim centre to register ourselves. We were only registering! But the smiles and love with which we were received set the tone for the entire experience. Each moment, each experience, felt infused with something special. Our boys were doted on and loved by every person they came into contact with — they had a spectacular time!
Sure, there were awkward moments, such as when our four-year-old loudly proclaimed that he needed to use the toilet during a quiet prayer in our pilgrim group, but overall our family plan worked better than we could have imagined. This was not because of us, but because of all the other people, the organisational precision, and the spirit of the experience around us.
I watched my boys learn about the history of our special faith, engage with Bahá’is from all around the world, pray in the holiest spot on Earth for me — and that really was something else.
Family Faith Affirmation
Overall, this pilgrimage was a timely confirmation for our family. Confirmation that we are spiritual beings and that our lifetime must be filled with connection, love and service. It felt like our new first step towards a lifetime of spiritual growth.
It also confirmed for me what I had read many times in the Bahá’i Writings:
“Holy Places are undoubtedly centres of the outpouring of Divine grace . . . because on entering the illumined sites associated with martyrs and holy souls, and by observing reverence, both physical and spiritual, one’s heart is moved with great tenderness.”
Tui Motu Magazine. Issue 242 October 2019: 12-13